Welcome to Dreamride
by Gothika Angel01
Summary: After the End War, and after the resurrection of humanity, the denizens of the three Kingdoms find a new planet for humans to live on. Thing is, everyone else wants to live there, too. This should be fun.


Traveling from Heaven to Rurus was no big adventure; they were neighboring planets in the same solar system. That being said, Lee didn't have much aways to go when she left her group home in the White City to her new family on Rurus. Her host said she was moving to a place called Dreamride, to a foster family where she would wait to be adopted.

Well, at least they were making it clear that nobody here in Heaven wanted her. Maybe she'd have better luck fitting in on some other planet.

There was a designated location set on this planet in only a few places, depending on where you wanted to go. Lee and the other passengers she had teleported with all set their courses to Dreamride and arrived at the immigration department. Luckily, Lee had her social worker accompanying her, so all of that stuff would be taken care of. All the young angel had to do was fill out paperwork and get a few shots. (Apparently, people from off-planet had to get vaccinated to ward off certain diseases that magic can't heal. Who knew?)

After all the needles and picture taking, Lee was sent out in a crowded lobby to wait for her foster mother. Her social worker had explained everything to her as she was getting vaccinated; Lee was going to be picked up and taken into town to get enrolled into school, pick up her uniforms, get her student I.D., and then she would be going to her new home in town.

She couldn't say she was excited about it too much, she'd been in three foster homes in the past several years. It was all the same all around, but oh, the host was so sure that this one would be different. Rurus was filled with all sorts of people, according to what Lee had heard about the planet from her peers in Heaven. Perhaps they would hand her over to a family of demons and wash their hands of her? Maybe that was their plan.

Lee calmly mulled the idea over in her head as she sat in the lobby between a tiefling man in a pressed suit and an older human woman wrapped head to toe in scarves. It was waaaay different than the people she'd seen all her life in Heaven, and it was really strange. She itched at the ladder of colorful bandages along the length of her left arm. The injection sites were starting to get itchy. The doctor had said that such a thing was normal; The itch meant that it was healing.

Cool.

The fledgling watched people of all shapes and sizes dashing this way and that, coming to and from other worlds. There were civilians, police, and many others all over, and for a while when Lee saw that no one was picking her up yet. She grew worried that she may have gotten lost, or was seated at the wrong port. Was she waiting in the right place? What if her tags were wrong? She looked over at the desk near the entrance from the vaccination ward; Platform 66- WC-12/24 to Dreamride 12/30.

Her tags were all correct, she was in the right place. Maybe, she thought, she was just nervous. Maybe it was all the drugs she had been given making her feel paranoid...

She waited some more. And some more. About two whole hours, Lee waited before Someone arrived looking for her.

A human woman carrying a bright red suitcase had approached the desk at the Platform entrance asking the clerk some questions. Lee watched from her seat. This woman looked just like a sage, Lee thought. She was tall, and lively and beautiful, and Lee was immediately and hopelessly in love. The elders talked, the clerk pointed to where Lee was sitting and the human looked; She smiled and waved, turned back to the clerk, and then began making her way over to the young angel.

"Lee?" She called as she approached the child. "Lee, that you, hon?"

Obediently, Lee rose from her seat. "Yes ma'am."

The human was an olive-skinned woman with long curly hair that was tied together in a messy braid dotted with tiny flowers. She was wearing a bright pink and white dress with drooping sleeves and a square neck line, the whole dress falling just above the floor. She wore dark pink sunglasses and a wide white hat. She looked so elegant next to Lee in her plain celestial school uniform. That was all she had for the moment.

"Welcome home, I'm Simone. You're gonna be staying with us for a while, huh?"

"I guess so." Lee didn't have much of an answer. Simone seemed okay with that.

She held out the red suitcase for Lee to take, which was much lighter than she anticipated. She also handed over a pretty hat much like her own. It was a broad tan hat with an orange ribbon. There were even some tiny orange flowers sticking out of it.

"I thought you might like it. It's summer here, so you'll need this when you go outside to play with all those new friends you're gonna have."

The angel grimaced at the thought. She didn't have too many friends, and she never wore a hat. Lee thought she would try it on anyway. It fit snugly.

"How are you about clothes, Lee? You don't have any bags or anything?" Simone asked as she turned away and waved at the clerk. She placed a hand on Lee's shoulder as she and the child departed from the over-crowded lobby.

"I have a uniform." Lee bluntly replied.

"Your chaperone never brought you any other change of clothes? Nothing?!"

"All my old clothes will be going to some other kid in the White City. "

Simone hummed as she swerved with Lee in and out of packs of people. "Well, since it's your first day here, how about we do some shopping? Get you some clothes to run around and get dirty in. Then, we can get something for lunch. I'm starving. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a decent plan. I don't know how much I'll eat, I don't know what people here eat."

"Nevermind that, I'll take you to a few places,so you can get a feel for what's around and what you might like. We've got all day; and since school's out today, we can go on a shopping spree so you can pick out as many outfits as you like."

The human escorted Lee from the platforms and through an even longer tube-like corridor. People were being funneled in through a small gate. There were big men in blue and white uniforms checking people's papers and talking to the travelers. There were several of those little checkpoints ahead, and Lee began to notice how the travelers began to separate themselves ;

One line, the line that Simone and Lee were waiting in, was strictly occupied by women and children. Just moms and their kids. Possibly all the foster kids coming on from off planet, too. They were about six spaces from the front. Another line was comprised of people in varied groups, humans and demons, demons and angels, Makers, and others, coming up to the guards two by ten by three by line must have been for citizens of Rurus, since they seemed to just show off their identification and were on their merry ways.

Another line was occupied by men and women in suits. Just men; angel, demon, human, each one in a nice suit. Business Class. Nuthin' but business over there.

Another line was families, parents with children and grandparents and whatnot. There were lots of infernal people running around in all of these lines, which made the poor kid all the more on edge. She herself was in a hurry to get out of this building and see the outside of this place. Simone's arm around her was slightly reassuring. Lee took comfort in that.

"Can I see your folder, Lee? The one your chaperone gave you?"

Lee obediently complied, shrugging her bag off her shoulder and kneeling before it, taking out all of her records and identification. Simone gently took it up from her and opened the parchment, skimming over its contents. Lee winced when she immediately plucked the photograph of the young angel from the front of the file folder and held it up for her to see. The smile was sweet, as was the human woman's giggles.

"What a sad face. Why didn't you smile for your I.D. photo, hon?"

Lee slung her backpack back over her shoulder and shrugged. "Nuthin' to smile about at the time. It would've been a waste, if'ya ask me."

Simone continued to observe the photograph, nodding and pursing her lips. "Okay, okay. That one's gonna slide for now, but next time you get you picture taken for your student I.D., I want you to smile. Whether it be sweet or sinister, I care not. Smile. It's good for your face."

Lee hooked a long strand of platinum hair behind her ear, a tiny grin curling somewhere at the edge of her lip. Simone put the photo back and placed the folder in the crook of her arm. She reached into her own purse and pulled out what looked like a pocketbook. The two of them advanced toward a twin set of tall winged policemen, and Simone held out her hand at the first man. They were both angelic men, with large white wings and strong raptor-like gazes that seemed to penetrate the soul of anyone who looked directly into their eyes. She addressed the first one by name.

"Hello, Ignatius. How are you today, dear?" The human sweetly cooed, handing over her identification card along with a pink slip or paper.

The angel replied in the strong voice that Lee was accustomed to hearing coming from an angel like him; enormous and strong. "I'm the same as always. I'm starving. I can't wait for my lunch break-"

Simone gasped as she handed Lee's folder over to the other guard, identical, save his short white hair, to Ignatius. "You mean you haven't been fed yet?"

"Not yet, no. Duties before pleasures,a s they say." He shrugged, handing back the small card.

Lee stared as the human reached into her purse and pulled out a paper bag seemingly out of nowhere, holding it out to the angel. "I bought a bunch of beignets this morning, and I couldn't finish them. You want them? Just to hold you and your friend here over until your breaks?"

This must have been a thing that happened often. Ignatius laughed and took the bag with a bow of this head. "What is it with you and feeding everyone, woman?"

A simple shrug. "It's what I do."

Lee was instantly salty. She wasn't offered a beinget.

The identical angel behind Ignatius handed the folder back to the little angel girl. "You'll be better off here, kid. If ya ask me, Heaven's old news."

Simone interjected. "Now, there's nothing wrong with Heaven, and there's nothing wrong with the White City. It's a fine place to be, Rurus and Unys are just way less strict. Angels and Infernals have more freedoms here."

"Amen. You working tonight, Miss Simone?"

"Tonight I am. You got a hot date or something, Luke?"

"Something like that"

Simone's eyebrows shot up and she recoiled with a hand on her chest in mock fright. She seemed quite surprised. "Well I'll be damned~"

Lee stood there for about ten more minutes as her new foster mom talked to her friends. The fledgling assessed that she seemed friendly enough, and liked to talk and joke around. Maybe she was alright, and Lee was just being paranoid about things, as per the norm with her.

So after all that chatting and whatnot, Simone and Lee made to depart. Simone said she didn't drive, rather, she took a bus, and that she would teach Lee how to use the bus and make her way around town. While the two sat together on the crowded bus, Simone explained a few things about this place to her newcomer.

The human and the angel had a long discussion about how much freedom Lee was to have. She was to go to school on her own, which meant hat she was getting a bicycle until she was big enough to fly, she had chores, she would have an allowance, and she was, quote, "Allowed to go anywhere in town, so long as you text me first, and let me know where you are."

Lee didn't understand at first; No church? No constant classes? No painstaking exams? "What do you mean-"

Immediately after, Simone reached into her purse and Lee received her first phone.

Oh, this was different. She turned the devise in her hands over and over. For a second, Lee thought that she held in her hand, the most powerful tool in the universe. Simone made it clear that this devise was going to help her a great deal on this planet. She had all sorts of new things to do, and things were only going to get deeper. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Lee and Simone took the first bus into town, a bus with no doors or windows, and stood near the back of the bus, near the left side. Lee had never ridden on a bus before, but thought it couldn't be so bad. She just wished that there weren't so many people on board. It was loud and crowded, and Lee didn't want to be standing back in between a dozen strangers anymore.

Simone grabbed the angel by her shoulders and moved her over to the outside, closer to the "Window"of the bus after the demon beside her hopped off at a corner. Lee breathed and glanced up down the street in front of her; at the crosswalk where dozens of people, angels and demons and humans and more went about their business from one town to the next. She read the enormous street sign painted with rainbows and colorful designs. "Welcome to Dreamride! The city by the bay- The city that rocks!"

Simone showed her the places she was allowed to go; there was a pub that she claimed had excellent soups and sandwiches, a theater where people went to watch movies, or whatever those were. There was a post office, a surf shop, electronics store, music store, all on one street?! What a convenience!

"Dreamride's a pretty small town, kiddo. Everything's pretty much within walking or biking distance, so you can go pretty much wherever. I only ask that when you go somewhere, you text me or let me know where you are. Communication is important to me, understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"So if you can do that for me, I'll give you complete freedom. All I ask, is communications with you, and a little respect of course."

"I think that sounds reasonable." the angelic youth grabbed at her hat and hung on to Simone as the bus pulled to a sudden stop.

Dreamride was a small and tall city nestled between a vast mountain range, an enormous ocean, and the remainder of the forested country of Unys. On their way into Dreamride, the two had to take the route through Manx to get to the mall. Lee realized almost instantly that this was where all the demons lived. The bus only ran through one large road, straight through the middle of town, and she noticed that the homes and buildings in this ramshackle town were just that; They seemed sloppier, a little more tried and bent out of shape.

Simone explained that this place was underfunded in regards to things like public service and domestic necessities. The human woman seemed to grow more an more upset as Lee pressed her, asking why the demon district was so run-down and beat up, while the approaching city of Dreamride was much better in construction and more well maintained.

"The people in charge have made it so that people they don't like are ostracized and not taken care of as well as people who look and think like them," Simone started to explain, holding onto Lee's tiny frame tightly as the bus swerved down the haphazard roads. "People like you, however, may have more of an advantage here."

Lee clutched the back of the seat in front of her. A few more people leapt off, and some hopped on as they sped past a street corner. Lee wondered if this bus ever really stopped.

She thought about what Simone had mentioned earlier as she was showing her around on their way to the mall. She wondered about the drawbacks of being the one with an advantage. She worried that it might lead t trouble; she hoped it wouldn't.

After about several more "stops" throughout this insane trip, Simone grabbed Lee's arm as tight as she could without hurting her and gave a simple, "Hold on," as a warning before stepping off of the bus as it turned a tight corner. It frightened Lee a bit; she was almost certain the bus was going to tip over on top of them. But, the loud and crazy bus revved on down the streets, collecting more and more passengers as it went.

The young angel righted herself and took off her hat, brushing her long platinum hair back behind her head. The elder teased at a few locks of straighter-than-a-board hair, remarking that it was very long and well maintained. Lee admitted she hated her long hair, but wasn't allowed to cut her own hair in Heaven. Not until she was older.

Simone smiled and wrapped an arm around Lee's shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk together. "You know, I don't really approve of cutting hair myself, but I'll bet we can find a place at the mall where we can see a stylist?" she suggested, nodding to an angelic gentleman that had stepped aside for her and Lee to walk.

"A stylist?"

"Yeah. Someone to cut and color your hair? I would do it for you myself, but I'm no professional, and that's something a pro should really be doing, not me."

Lee almost stopped in her tracks. "Color? How do you mean?"

"Oh, well some angels like coloring their hair," Simone started as the two approached a crosswalk. Many other people, mostly young folks were standing waiting for the traffic to signals to change. "Angel hair takes really well to hair dyes, since angel hair is so fair, so they'll end up dying their hair all sorts of colors. I just thought you might wanna give it a try, since this is a whole new place, and it's a great opportunity to reinvent yourself!"

As the young angel stood there, she felt completely dumbstruck for the first time in her whole entire life. First, she could go anywhere in town, and ow she could customize her look as she pleased?! This whole free-will thing was starting to get more and more interesting.

"So can we do that first? Cut and color my hair?" Lee asked excitedly as the crowd started crossing the street.

"Look at you~" Simone laughed, turning sharply to the left and following a different path than what they were walking. "I'll say we do that first, then we get you some new clothes to hang around that, We'll have to get you school supplies and stuff for your new room, but at that point we may have to make a trip back home to drop all of the stuff off..."

As Simone droned on about her plans, Lee watched the streets around her. She wondered if it was normally this crowded? She sniffed the air; something smelled really good. People and children were wandering every which way, exploring various shops and buying all sorts of things. Various music rang out all over, the likes of which Lee had never heard before. She liked it.

Whatever that smell was, it seemed to have captured the human's attention, since it seemed to get stronger and stronger the further they walked.

"Oh, Jinsang! Lee, you hungry?" Simone turned around and pointed to the building to the left.

The celestial kid nodded eagerly.

"You ever had Hibachi?"

"What?"

* * *

So apparently, Hibachi was when the cooks prepared the food right in front of you on a hot flatop, or a habachi was a wonderful first, and very possibly the best rice she'd ever eaten. Not only was there rice, but there was ramen, and wontons, all sorts of things like what she used to eat in heaven, but way better! There were even spicy foods to go with it all, rather than sweet stuff she was so used to. Lee decided she liked the spicy foods best.

The mall is a familiar and foreign place at the same time; it reminded her of the Town Square back in the White City, but far different. Shops were stacked up on top of one another and three or four story buildings resembling the shops of the coastal town area. There were all sorts of people flying and wandering about, mostly just small family groups.

The first place she and Simone were to meet up with someone to cut and color Lee's hair. She was secretly very excited to do something different with her hair, since sh was never allowed to do so before.

She thought about what color she would get when they arrived, and while at a particularly sweet spot Simone liked where she stopped to get some ice cream for the both of them, the young angel saw another angel there that caught her eye. An older celestial boy with a group of other angels clad in black clothes and eerie masks. The pink-haired boy was the only one it seemed to not be wearing a mask He looked so... human. He had short cropped pink hair, and a silver ring in his lip. She stared at him for a while, until he saw her and her mom standing in line and waved. She waved back with a tiny smile. She silently admired that beautiful boy.

She then knew what it was she wanted to do.

Simone turned inside of a store with multitudes of photographs of beautiful people plastered to its windows. She guessed it was the salon, as Simone called it, and quickly followed her inside. It was a small space filled with chairs of all sorts. It smelled of various chemicals

Simone stepped up to the counter and smiled at the other human man at the counter. "Do you guys have a spot open for my little girl here? She just blew in from Heaven, and she wants to change her look a little."

"Ah, right! Gotta keep a low profile, huh? Well, I could squeeze you in for a quick haircut right now-"

Lee interrupted, "I wanted to change my hair color too-"

"You wanna dye?" the clerk asked, holding up a booklet with colorful tabs sticking out of the pages.

The angel paused and blinked about a dozen times. "I'm sorry?"

"Do you want to dye your hair?" The clerk fingered through the colored tabs and stopped at a bright pink tab. He opened the book and held it out onto the countertop for Lee to see. The page was opened to a layout of what looked like pieces of cut out paper plastered to the pages in this book, each different headshot accompanied by a splatter of a different shade of pink, and a number. Lee understood it was something she would need to look at if she wanted to choose her hair color.

"Oh, yeah! I want pink hair! I want my hair short and pink, can you do that one?" she pointed to the picture with a what looked like a human woman with short curly, pale pink hair all wrapped up in a floral crown. It was much nicer than the shade of pink she had seen on that boy's head earlier. Something she thought would fit her better.

"We sure can! Here, hop on over here, and Bellora will be out in just a sec to get you started."

Simone sat in the seats at the front while Lee waited. She let herself be wrapped in a towel, and was taken over to a chair where she was made to lie down. The man at the desk then proceeded to start washing Lee's hair for her, and quietly chatted whilst he did so. He asked Lee about Heaven, and if it seemed like a place that needed a salon like his. Lee told him he would never manage to get a business like this one to flourish given Heaven's strict dress codes, but the gentleman just laughed it off.

Lee wondered why she wasn't facing the mirror; she wanted to watch whoever it was who would be cutting her hair, or to watch her hair take shape. She Looked at her hat over on the table where Simone was sitting. She looked at her hair in her face again. Goodbye you.

A woman appeared from behind a velvet curtains, a tall woman with bright red skin and four arms. Lee forced herself not to stare so openly at her extrapolating physique, but couldn't refrain from doing so. She stared at her long braids, all wrapped it and around themselves, braided around her curved horns and decorated with beads and various colored string. She was dressed in form fitting tan pants and a black shirt. She said something to Simone as she grabbed an apron from behind the front desk and put it on. Lee tried to listen in, but a lot of it seemed to be in Infernal. What little of the conversation she could understand pertained to lunch at Reeth's or something or another.

The tall demon then turned to face Lee, four bright blue eyes shined to where the angel sat, smiling. Lee felt something drop in her stomach. This woman was the one to be coloring and cutting her hair.

Bellora was her name, according to Andre, the guy at the counter. She seemed friendly enough as she talked to Simone and started combing Lee's hair. She was very gentle, and very swift with her actions. She told Lee to sit still while she gathered her hair in two fists, quickly snipping off all of the long silver hair in each one. When she released her hair, she felt thick damp locks falling against her ears and nothing more. Then, Bellora came in with another pair of scissors, and started snipping away as she talked about politics.

"If you're an early bird, you can listen to the Croxley on the radios! They even have an early morning television show! You can catch up on all the current events going on back in Heaven if you ever get homesick!"

Oh, so Bellora was also talking to Lee, too? Hmm. Guess I have to work on listening, huh?

"I heard you kids almost didn't come here!" Bellora chirped in a sweet voice as she continued to cut away near Lee's neck.

"Yeah, there was a lot of pressure being put on Heaven from the EAPP, there were even a few protests, but after all that, they let us all sign up to be sponsors. Lee's district in the White City was the first to relinquish all of their orphaned children, and next come the Islanders."

"Islanders?" lee piped up after a long silence. "You mean the kids from Jordan and Pompeii?"

"Yeah, they're going to be integrated sometime in the next two months." Bellora replied, finishing up on Lee's pixie style hair. "Several families in my building alone were approved for sponsorship, and there are plenty more still pending."

Lee listened as she watched little curls fall into her lap and onto the floor. Her wings were beginning to cramp up.

"I just wished they would have allowed for more than one child at a time." Simone started with a heavy sigh. "I would have gladly housed a few kids extra."

"I thought that was weird, too, but what does it matter? These kids are being put into decent homes with decent families. They're being modernized at incredible rates! I mean look at Lee," Bellora tapped a wet brush to the top of Lee's head, making her shiver. "She's already changing her appearance! And this is your first day, right?"

"Yeah." the youngster dryly replied.

"I think Heaven just needs to stop being so adamant about their draconian policies and make a little change. The angels that integrated here after the End War brought their families, and grew up here just fine."

Simone interjected. "I think it's because the kids that grow up here don't want to go back. They've been modernized too much. I've heard a few testimonies from parents of other older angels, and a great deal of the won't even go back if ordered."

Lee flinched when a rogue red hand wrapped itself around the young angel's neck and turned her head the opposite way. The wet brush she used to apply the dye was cold and it felt warm as she colored on and on. Lee wanted to see what she was starting to look like. Her ears were wet with dye at this point nnow.

"How long does it usually take for you to cut and color someone's hair?" Lee asked, twitching her little wings.

"Well, normally, I'm finished cutting in about eleven minutes, but angel hair is easy to work with. I'm almost completely finished here." Another hand turned Lee's head back toward her. "Then again, things always move faster when you've got another set of hands."

Bellora swept up the remains of Lee's curls, one pair of hands putting on a pair of gloves, the other hands were putting their dye mix down and picking up a comb. She started messaging the color into Lee's hair and explained to the angel that after this first treatment, she was going to give her a second run with a darker shade of pink to give her colors some depth.

This is fine, she thought, this is nice. She let herself be led down back into the hair-washing station for Bellora to rinse out all the color. Immediately after, she laid more pink into her hair, but she didn't have her rinse the dye out, rather she told Lee that she was to wear a little cap until the colors set completely, and she could wash it all out when she got home.

Oh, the excitement was too much, Lee found herself giggling uncontrollably when she saw her reflection. Long gone were her long platinum waves. Now, underneath the cute little orange and yellow polka-dot cap, was new pink curls she could grow into. She and Simone thanked Bellora, Lee put her new hat on on top of her cap, excitedly exiting the salon with a newfound eagerness to start life in Dreamride.

* * *

After the trip to the salon, the two went on to a few shopping centers, where Lee was offered the opportunity to pick out clothes for herself. She would be required to wear "People Clothes," articles of clothing vastly different than the garbs and robes in Heaven. She picked out pants, jeans, shorts and a few dresses. She got the chance to try on new shirts, too, which she absolutely loved! The clothes she got looked just like a humans! Only differences were the snaps on the back of all of her shirts.

Simone encouraged her to pick out a few dresses, for special occasions, but Lee was in no mood for dresses. She loved her new jeans, and started wearing them right away, abandoning her heavenly trousers and delicate white blouse. She even got new shoes!

By the end of their little shopping spree, both girls were up in arms with shopping bags. Lee decided that she had everything she needed for her first day, and wanted to finally go to her new home. Back on that crazy bus, back on the streets, and toward a new start.

The ride to the treehouse on the corner was a short one; shorter than the ride into town. There was a tall, dark-skinned man waiting at the front gate, an angel. Lee watched him as she helped Simone carry in the bags of her stuff. The young one was the first up the stairs, Simone taking her time and talking to that stranger while they carried things up the stairs. She heard Simone drop a name after kissing his cheek; Nathaniel.

Oh holy holy, Nathaniel?The Hellguard Nathaniel? he Nathaniel?! What the hell was this?! She had no idea that the Hellguard have been living with the humans! That meant they lived with the demons too! Weren't they supposed to kill all the demons? The sight of him being all friendly with Simone made her nervous.

But he was smiling, and she was laughing at whatever it was she was saying. Was he a friend of hers? Were they courting? She bloody hoped so.

She set her bags on the pretty porch swing and sat beside them. She looked over the patio, covered in colorful flowers and other potted plants. It smelled lovely, and there was a strong magical feeling from the entire front porch. Simone must have been magic herself, as Lee suspected.

She waited patiently for Simone to return and unlock the door, she knew it would be locked. Instead, she returned with Nathaniel, and he was helping her carry her things.

"Lee, this is my dear friend Nathaniel," Simone introduced, pulling out a set of keys. "You'll be seeing a lot of him."

Golden eyes trailed the enormous angel from his shoes to his tie, taking note of how human he looked in this light. He wore black slacks and a blazer, a button up shirt and a bright blue tie. He looked incredibly handsome in people clothes. He smiled and asked how the people back in Heaven were doing. Lee told them they were the same as always.

Simone ushered the two angels into her home and started up the stairs. She called for Lee to follow. The angel brought all of her bags up the stairs with her, to where the elder was leading her at the top of the stairs. She opened a door with a black door handle and strode on in, mentioning for Lee to come in after her.

It was a cozy square space with a big widow, a big bed, and a huge vanity painted with gold and purple metallic paints. The room smelled like candle wax and tea.

"This was where Jordi lived when she was my roommate. It's your room now, so you can decorate as you please." The elder said as Lee set her bags down next to the bed. "Of course, that'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Nathaniel appeared in the doorway behind them, bringing more stuff with him. Lee watched him take a brief look around the room before returning to the doorway.

"So Jordi really did move over to Lavender?" The Hellguard spoke in a soft voice, nothing like the soldiers back home would have used. "Guess she was serious about it."

Simone smiled and opened the windows, letting some much needed afternoon sunlight into the humble space. "Yeah, she said something about going just for a while to reach these high paying clients, but I think she's planning on staying."

"Did she say anything about Strife at all?" he asked Simone pointedly. "Anything about work, maybe?"

Dark hair swished back and forth as Simone shook her head. That made Nathaniel frown, but it was short lived. The angel simply shrugged and ducked back into the hallway, Simone following in suit.

"Get your clothes put away and maybe you can go outside and make some friends before the day is over!" the human called over her shoulder as she descended back downstairs.

Lee obediently went to setting her things straight. She wanted to wear the rainbow shirt with the long sleeves, so she slipped it on under her current shirt. She liked the colorful stripes that ran down the sleeves. She loved all the colors period. After she put that on, she got to folding all of her stuff and putting in neat piles in her closet space. She meandered around her room for a while, figuring out what she thought should go where.

This was pretty nice, she though. Sure, the room had only a vanity, a lamp, and a bed for right now, but that's just because the person had just moved out! Lee was very grateful that whomever owned the room prior left behind the vanity. She liked how it glittered, and she even found a switch connected to a wire in the wall that turned the vanity on, lighting up the whole mirror.

On the vanity was a few stray items Lee assumed were left there for her; there was a wallet, a little purple leather thing with loads of small pockets, a ring with a set of keys on it, sunglasses, a small golden lighter that Lee figured out right away, a notebook, and a box of crayons. She put all those items in her backpack for later.

She looked herself in the mirror and say the yellow polka-dots peeking through the sunhat. Her hair! She all but ripped the hat and cap off, gasping at the little wisps of pink curls that fell around her ears. She realized with a slight horror that she didn't even recognize herself. Angels all looked relatively the same; long white hair, olive skin, golden or ivory eyes, fluffy white wings...

Lee was pink and fluffy, she was something other than an angel now, she thought. She certainly felt different. It was a good different. It made her cheeks tighten n a broad grin, something Lee hadn't done in a long time. She ran her fingers through it, her hair was hard and crunchy. Oh yeah, this had to be rinsed off.

Lee shuffled downstairs and peered around the corner into the front of the house; the living room. Simone and Nathaniel were in the kitchen.

"Miss Simone?" the little one spoke up, albeit meekly, trying not to interrupt. "Where can I rinse my hair off?"

"Oh, there's a bathroom right across the hall from you, dear. Try not to make a mess."

"Thank you," And back upstairs she went, into the bathroom.

She slipped off her shirts and grabbed a towel that had been hanging up above the tub. She was clever enough to figure out what was what, and she immediately stuck her head in the sink and started rinsing. She thought the pink in the water was cool. When she was sure it was all rinsed off and her hair started feeling soft again. She reached for a towel set on the edge of the sink and buried her face in it, rubbing the softness all over her head and neck and arms.

She admired herself as she put her shirts back on. She found immense satisfaction int he idea that no other angel would look like her. She felt proud of her new look. No other angel would look like her, and she wasn't going to look like anyone else. She was starting to feel different about this place. Lee returned to her room and went to the window. She stared out onto the street, her front yard area, all closed off from the rest of Dreamride by a gate. There were people walking on the sidewalk, demons, a maker, a crowd of humans and demons, a few angels.

There were two kids that looked to be fighting out in front of the house. Lee watched the two from her window. They were dressed in haphazardly assembled robes and what looked like makeshift armor. They attacked one another with wooden sticks. They must have been playing some sort of game.

There was a human boy and a demon girl, the demon was nothing like Lee had ever seen before- pale white skin with white hair. She wore a pale blue dress and black-and-white striped socks. That was all she could make out from up there in her room.

Out of curiosity, and mostly in part because Simone said to go outside and make some friends, Lee headed downstairs with her backpack full of all of the things she needed: phone, wallet, keys, glasses, lighter, and a notebook with her crayons. With all this, she headed downstairs to where Simone and Nathaniel sat together drinking tea at the kitchen table. They were talking about school.

"I'd like to go outside," the young angel announced as she stood in the entryway of the dining room and the kitchen. "If I may."

"Sure, sweetie. Here," Simone pointed with her chin. "I left some money on the kitchen counter for you, hun. Just be back before it gets dark."

Lee gave a nod, pocketed the money and headed out the door and down the stairs. The two warriors still locked in mortal combat as she approached the gate. She listened closely.

"Ah, step off, orc scum!" The white demon girl hissed, swinging at the boy with her wooden mace.

The human raised his shield and parried with a hit of his own, sending the demon girl falling on her backside. Lee was just opening her front gate.

"This orcs gonna fuck you up!" he shouted as he raised his sword, preparing to strike.

Lee approached from behind him and simply punched him in his shoulder, not so hard as to hurt him, just enough to surprise him. It may have done more damage than the angel thought prior, however.

"OW! What the hell's wrong with you?! That's cheating, I'm telling my mom!" the human boy growled before picking up his sword and running off down the street.

Lee watched after him and gave the demon a hand in righting herself, dusting off her rear. Lee liked her outfit, she liked her skin, too. This demon was very pretty.

"Thanks for helping me out! I had no clue that kid had another revive potion." She stuck her makeshift mace into the loop of her makeshift belt hoops and extended a hand. "I'm Taluah. I'm a cleric."

"I'm Lee. I'm not a cleric."

"Hey, you live in the house across from me!" A white finger pointed to the red house behind her, across from Lee's new treehouse home. "We're neighbors! We should be friends!"

Wow. Outside for only ten seconds and I already made friends with a demon! This could be kind of fun! She'd never really played much, since she never really had any friends to play with. Plus, playing wasn't a very big thing back in Heaven. Duties before pleasure, she guessed.

"Hey, if you wanna come play with us, you can! I'll introduce you to my friends! We're playing at Matariel's house, that big yellow one, down the street. I'm just about to turn in my latest quest before the day's over, you should come and meet the gang! Come on."

So this demon was friends with another angel? She knew a celestial name when she heard one, and assumed Matariel must have been an angel. Perhaps she was an okay candidate after all. The demon was friends with more than one angel now.

Lee pulled out her phone. She was still playing around with it, trying to figure it out. She texted Simone, telling her that she had made a friend, and they were going to play at another friends house down the street. She awaited a response from her foster mother while she walked alongside her new demon friend.

If only the kids in the White City could see me now...

Angel and demon started down the street together, and Taluah seemed adamant on getting to know her new friend. "Where'd you live before moving here?"

"Heaven."

"Ugh, what a drag. Is it true people aren't allowed to dance there or listen to music?"

The angel pocketed her phone again. "Where did you hear that?"

"From the elderkids; The teens who lived in Heaven before they moved here. They're always dissing their home planet."

"Well, people aren't supposed to dance outside unless there are festivities going on-"

"What about music?" the demon asked, stopping at a corner and looking both ways before crossing over. Lee mirrored her actions. "It that allowed?"

"I don't know. I've never seen or heard anyone in Heaven playing music, outside of holidays, of course."

"Well, I think you'll like Rurus much better than that boring old place. Less rules, here. Plus, you can go and talk to whoever you want here!"

Taluah bounced with her steps as she led her new angel friend down the block. "We've been playing this game since yesterday, and everyone's got a class. If you wanna play, you have to speak with the Wizards and choose a class."

Lee squinted as she followed down the sidewalk. Wizards? She walked on the outside, closest to the street. She hopped out onto the road, but Taluah gave her a warning.

"Our parents get mad at us if we're out in the streets. It's nothing too serious, but I don't want you getting yelled at by any of our moms."

The angel thought long and hard about the fact that a demon was standing right in front of her, telling her she would rather not see her getting into trouble. Everyone in Heaven says that these demons are evil, that they can never be trusted, but demons on Rurus seemed quite contrary to that. Everyone she had met this far seemed very pleasant; polite even. It was nice.

Angel and Demon approached the yellow house at the end of the street, right on the northeast corner to be exact, and the girls ascended the wooden steps onto their patio, which looked to have a lot of the same plants that Simone had on her porch, too. Lee stood silently by as Taluah knocked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, Matariel can't quite hear so well, so you'll have to talk a little slow so he can read your lips, okay?"

"He's deaf?" Lee looked surprised. "I know a liitle bit of celestial sign language, but not enough to carry a conversation."

The door opened, and just as Lee had guessed, an angel stood i the doorway in a long green dress and an apron. Something about Matariel's mom reminded Lee of Simone; they even dressed alike.

"Hi Miss Deena, I was wondering if we could play with Matariel?" the demon stepped aside and held an arm out to where Lee stood. "This is my new friend Lee. She lives in the Witch's house across the street from mine and she doesn't know anybody else in town. I wanted to know if she could play, too."

"So you're the new kid I've been hearing so much about," The elder angel was soft spoken and musical, just as Lee would have guessed. "I'm Deena. I'm friends with your Mom."

Ah ha. Now it all made sense.

"Nice to meet you." Lee took her hand and shook once.

"He's out in the backyard with the rest of his little druid friends. You're welcome to come in and visit him,"

"Thanks Ma'am." Taluah singsonged, stepping inside after the adult. Lee quickly followed, and tailed the demon straight from the front door to the kitchen to the back door, and down yet another painfully adorable patio.

Out on the lawn in the backyard, there was an enormous castle-fort built onto a treehouse. It looked as if these final decorations were just slapped on to give the wooden shape some flair, as well as to look intimidating. There were nicely drawn flames and other various details drawn onto the castle. It looked quite nice, actually.

The demon in front of her raised a white fist and announced herself, "Your cleric has returned. My Lords! And with me I have brought a recruit: a new kid has moved in next door and has the makings of a fine soldier-"

Lee hated those arrangements of words...

Out of the castle's entrance stepped two figures, an angel, and another kid. The angel, a young boy, wore a soft red shirt and had a jacket tied around his waist. His blue jeans were rolled up around the ankles, and he wore shows very similar to her own. The kid with him looked like a girl, with long, crazy coily hair held back in a ponytail. She wore a button up shirt, form fitting black jeans and colorful shoes. She was wielding a huge stick. Both kids wore broad pointy hats. They looked funny.

Taluah stepped forth and swept an arm out to her new friend, bowing regally. "I present to you, Lee of the White City! She's my new friend, and I wanted her to play with us."

The coily haired girl stomped forward, rubbing her chin thoughtfully and circling the angel over and over, examining her. The angel was uncomfortable being observed so openly.

"So you're from Heaven, huh? Part of that whole child care program, right? Your coming was fortold by a local social worker." Before Lee could answer, the stranger stuck out her hand. Lee took it without a word.

"I am Karmarae; the Golden Wizard!-" Karma declared, waving her "staff" high above her head. Matariel ducked from it's swing. Joaquin was not so lucky. "-and this is my partner and fellow wizard, The Wizard of Night. Together, we hold peace and tranquility through out the Valley of Tranquility,"

"You said tranquility twice," a pudgy demonic-looking child scoffed from up in the makeshift castle's watch tower.

"Shut the fuck up, Jax!"

"This is Matariel, our Wizard." Karma reclaimed Lee's attention, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "He can't hear, but he can read lips, and knows trouble when he sees it."

Karma clasped hands with Matariel and grinned. "He loves anything yellow, he's always smiling, immaculately dressed, which is a great quality in a person. More often than not, he's behind us. He's my right hand man, and together we defend the relics of Harmony; tools of great magical power said to maintain order in the universe. The orc army of Toth has been trying to take the relics from us for days, but they shall never prevail. For whomever controls the relics of harmony, controls the universe."

"Is that what this game is all about?" Lee asked, puzzled to say the least.

"That's right, friend Lee. We're tasked with protecting these relics so that our kingdom can live in peace. Together, we are a mighty force to be reckoned with!" Karma declared with a bold air of determination and pride about her. She followed on as she was introduced to the rest of the group.

"This is Mars. The thief. The mysterious one-"

Lee looked to where Karma pointed, from the only shaded place in the entire backyard. Mars simply nodded and watched from beneath her brows with a stoic frown, hidden in the shadows. A tall, lanky human child with messy hair and arresting green eyes.

"Mars is a lover of green tea, scary literature, and computer games. They're always organised, love puzzles, and won't take shit from anyone. They act as our infiltrator and intelligence collector. They intercept all the enemies messages on social media, and they have agents working on the insides updating us with new intell every other day."

The two approached the dark skinned boy Karma had whacked earlier, rubbing his head. "This is Joaquin, our blind bard! He might not be able to see, but with his magical flute and bardic powers, he can cast magical songs of enchantment. He collects vinyl records, loves big parties, black tea, old mystery movies, he can speak at least two languages, and he hugs almost everyone. Unless he's on the battlefield, then he has to restrain himself, lest he want to sit alone at lunch..."

"Lastly, and certainly my least favorite, is Jax. He's our paladin, our Meatshield, if you will." Karma huffed in a grim tone.

The tiefling boy gave a wickedly smug grin and stuck out his fat forked tongue. It made Lee want to gag. "I'm the muscle of this shit squad! Y'all are nothing without me!"

There was a collective groan and roll of the eyes from the other kids in the group. Jax must have been the one kid in the group who had a bit of a fat head. Lee knew lots of kids like that in Heaven...

So that was everyone on this little team of make believe heroes? Two demons, an angel, and a couple of humans? Huh. They all seemed like an okay bunch. Except for Jax. Lee decided that since this group lacked another paladin, and since Jax seemed unfit for the task, that she would take up the sword, and help these kids. defend their relics of Harmony, whatever they may be. Sounded like fun.

"So, now that we have gotten you a bit familiar with the team, if you should chose to fight, you must pick a class."

"I would like to be a paladin, then. I can act as a knight."

"Great! Go with Matariel and procure a weapon, then Jax will teach you how to fight!"

Well, making friends was an easy feat. Now she had to blend in, get used to life on this new crazy planet. Her first day here was incredible all on its own, and she was more than eager to fit in here. She had a feeling she wouldn't have to try too hard.


End file.
